Crawley Announces Retirement From The Game

Hampshire batsman John Crawley has become the latest former England international to announce his retirement from first-class cricket.

Crawley, formerly of Lancashire and a veteran of 37 Test matches for his country, joins former team-mates Mark Butcher and Andrew Caddick in making his decision to end his career this season.

He will play on until the end of the 2009 season with Hampshire, the club he joined in 2002 from Lancashire.

"I have enjoyed a fantastic career at the top of the game for over 20 years, meeting some amazing people and collecting some incredible experiences along the way," Crawley said.

"However, I have now realised that the time has come to close this particular chapter of my life and have decided to retire at the end of this season.’

He added: "I am particularly pleased to have been able to see out my career at such a fantastic club as Hampshire. This is a brilliant place with some exceptional talent already in and about to break into the team and the last thing I want to do is stand in the way of that talent. I would like to thank Rod, Giles and the rest of the playing, coaching and support staff for all their fantastic support. Finally I would like to thank all the Members and supporters who have followed me throughout my career."

He made his first-class debut in 1990 and first played Test cricket against South Africa in 1994 and his career-best score of 311 not out came when playing for Hampshire.